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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE ESTRANGEMENT OF YOUNG 
PEOPLE FROM CHRISTIANITY 



THE 

Estrangement of Young People 



FROM 



CHRISTIANITY 



BY 

President J. E. RANKIN, D.D., LL.D. 

HOWARD UNIVERSITY 

$tom tfje ^rettcfy of Dr* (Eugene 23erster, of parts 



[Printed in the United States. - ] 







FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 

London and Toronto 

1895 



The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 






Copyright, 1895, by 
FUNK AND WAGNALLS COMPANY. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 031677 



The Estrangement of Young People 
from Christianity. 



Our first years are years of dependence 
and protracted minority. Of all crea- 
tures, man is the one who comes into the 
world with the most entire helplessness, 
and who is compelled to undergo an edu- 
cation the most painful and difficult in 
order to come to an enjoyment of the 
powers which God has given him. What 
fruitless attempts, what uncertain gro- 
pings, what falls, before the little babe is 
able firmly to plant his foot on the earth 
and to walk unsupported and alone ! And 



6 Estrangement of Young People 

in the progress of intelligence, how long 
do we remain, so to speak, tinder tutelage, 
receiving from others our ideas and our 
opinions, living under an empire of au- 
thority, of majorities, of tradition, of 
prejudices from our very birth. What 
battles, what conflicts, before we become 
ourselves, in order to attain to senti- 
ments that are our own ! The same thing 
is illustrated in religious progress. Here, 
also, we may say that the babe drinks in 
his beliefs with the milk that nourishes 
him. He does indeed, with more or less 
of love or indifference, give assent to the 
religion which he has inherited from his 
parents or received from his teachers — 
he has no thought of doubting it; for 
the child is almost always a being who acts 



From Christianity. 



from instinct, and who gives no reason 
for what he thinks or believes. 

But this minority cannot endure for- 
ever. There comes a time when indi- 
viduality manifests itself; when reason 
begins to examine and to sift received 
opinions; when new faculties, and, at the 
same time, our new necessities transform 
the child into a man ; when the old sup- 
ports are broken down and the man 
walks alone. At what age shall we lo- 
cate this solemn transition ? It is impos- 
sible to give this question an absolute 
answer. There are men who in certain 
circumstances will always remain chil- 
dren, and will live on with the traditional 
ideas and beliefs which they have me- 
chanically received. We may say that 



8 Estrangement of Young People 

it is between the 15th and 20th years that 
the whole nature is renewed ; that person- 
ality assumes form, convictions are crys- 
talized, the horizon enlarged, and un- 
known light beams in upon the feeble 
organs of the child. 

Religious faith cannot remain unaf- 
fected by this renewal; it, too, must be 
sifted. The young man must examine 
the faith of the child in order to retain 
or reject it. A solemn experience, but 
an experience through which we must 
sooner or later pass, unless we abdicate 
conscience, and believe without knowing 
why. I know that there are people even 
in the bosom of Protestantism who pro- 
scribe examination and would have a 
man remain, face to face with religion it- 



From Christianity. 



self, in a state of perpetual minority; 
that they would have him believe be- 
cause he has been taught to believe, and 
travel on in the ruts where his parents 
have gone before him. But we believe 
in the Gospel. And since the Gospel 
commands us to render an account of our 
faith to others, it is clear it would have 
us begin by rendering an account of our 
faith to ourselves. No, Christianity does 
not fear light and examination. It does 
not impose itself upon the soul, nor dis- 
regard the soul's freedom. It is ours to 
choose ; and here, in this terrible respon- 
sibility, I find the most conclusive proof 
of man's moral grandeur. It is needless 
to insist upon a truth that all admit. 
This being so, I take a young man 



io Estrangement of Young People 

brought tip in the evangelical faith. I 
suppose that he has reached that decisive 
time when the traditions of childhood 
cease to have for him the prestige of au- 
thority, when he must discriminate re- 
specting his old opinions. I suppose him 
confronted by Christianity, and I ask 
why he finds difficulty in believing it; 
and as among these difficulties there are 
some common to men of every period, I 
shall limit myself to such of them as have 
most force with young people. Notice 
that I have chosen a man brought up in 
the evangelical and not the Catholic 
faith, for, with a subject so vast, I must 
limit myself somewhere. And, besides, 
should I speak of Catholicism and give 
the reasons why a young man finds it 



From Christianity. 1 1 

difficult to believe it, or the difficulties it 
presents, I should enter upon a wide do- 
main of controversy wholly unsuited to 
this discussion. 

But, before beginning this examina- 
tion, I hasten to answer an objection 
which, perhaps, will arise in some minds. 
Is it true, you ask, that every young man 
brought up in the Christian faith does 
actually in his youth encounter an emer- 
gency so serious, so decisive as that of 
which you speak to us? Is it true that 
there is a necessary choice between old 
and new convictions, and that Christian- 
ity must be summoned to the bar, and be 
in some sort accepted or rejected? With 
the exception of persons naturally inca- 
pable, or whose absolute want of education 



12 Estrangement of Young People 

has left them to a life wholly animal, I 
affirm that every young person must en- 
counter this experience. I admit, in- 
deed, that for a great number of them it 
is not very decisive; that it has not to 
the eyes of all the same importance ; that 
with some it is gradual and hidden, and 
with others it is instantaneous and super- 
ficial; that with the first the experience 
passes through the furnace of conscience, 
and with the last it only affects the sur- 
face of the moral being; but, having 
finally taken place, it becomes very real. 
The two classes have rejected Chris- 
tianity. The representative of one will 
be able to give you the reasons. With 
great seriousness and gravity, he will 
relate the doubts he has encountered; 



From Christianity. 



he will enumerate with grief the ob- 
jections which have determined the 
choice which he deplores; the represen- 
tative of the other will say, with a laugh, 
that he wants to enjoy life and have a 
good time. But with both the conflict 
has taken place, the experience has 
been encountered, and both of them 
are responsible for their choice. 

And now I shall state the grounds on 
which young people are most likely to be 
alienated from Christianity. I have said 
that at the epoch when childhood gives 
place to youth the entire being submits 
to a transformation; and among the 
faculties which assume new power, rea- 
son holds the first rank. The child is a 
creature of instinct more than reason. 



14 Estrangement of Young People 

The formation of the judgment is one of 
the best proofs of the transition of which 
I speak. The youth examines, he com- 
pares, and from this work of elaboration 
will result new opinions; his judgment 
will be more vigorous and energetic, his 
opinions more personal, and they will 
bear the seal of originality. Very well. 
Can a man yield himself to this new 
power awakened within him, this reason 
under whose conduct he enters upon the 
domain of science, without danger? Is 
it a guide to which he may safely aban- 
don himself ? I do not fear grave think- 
ing — an elevated and impartial examina- 
tion which estimates things according to 
their real value, and neither disdains nor 
is prejudiced. But this I do fear, and 



From Christianity. 15 

especially for the young: false reason, 
false science. "A little philosophy," 
says Bacon, " destroys religion; much, 
restores it." Now, young people know a 
little of every science, and they have 
enormous confidence in the little they 
know. This, indeed, is perfectly natu- 
ral. They have shaken off the yoke of 
authority. To reason, with them is to 
give proof of independence. It is noth- 
ing wonderful if they assert this inde- 
pendence as they confront the beliefs 
which have lately dominated them. I 
know that in this first effervescence of 
reason there is a kind of intoxication and 
disorder. We all know that no one is 
more disdainful of collegians than recent 
graduates — petty self-esteem, which a 



1 6 Estrangement of Young People 

little time will soon dissipate. No per- 
son is more likely to treat the beliefs of 
his childhood with disdain than he who 
has just planted his foot on the domain of 
science, and for whom his bachelor's 
diploma is his charter of emancipation. 
A man knows a little of astronomy, and 
so he ridicules the Old Testament for not 
putting the sun in the center of our 
planetary system. He knows a little of 
geology, and so he smiles as he reads the 
first chapter of Genesis. He knows a 
little of anthropology, so he pities the 
man who believes that creation can have 
sprung from a single head. He is a lit- 
tle of a critic, and he is amused with the 
discrepancies of the gospels ; he knows a 
little of medicine, and so he wonders how 



From Christianity. 17 

one can believe in books which speak of 
demoniacs and miraculous cures ; a little 
of philosophy, and so he balances the 
argument for and against the existence 
of God. 

Have you ever read in the witty wri- 
tings of Mr. Toepfer the sketch of that 
young Albert, who, after a few lessons in 
physical culture, in his passion for this 
branch of science, made his whole living 
to consist in exercise ; who took the ba- 
rometer in pieces to show that he knew 
how it was made, so that his father, to 
escape the constant perils of his home, 
prudently abandoned it? Very well. 
These young folks act a little like this 
young Albert. In their first passion for 
science, if I may use such a phrase, they 



1 8 Estrangement of Young People 

take to pieces their religious convictions. 
The misfortune would be greatly limited 
if they only destroyed these convictions 
and did not later find themselves con- 
fronted with temptations and storms, 
without guide and support. 

I know, indeed, that, as they advance, 
they react from their enthusiasm; they 
perceive that science has its mysteries, 
and that they have not solved all its 
problems. They perceive that this phil- 
osophy in which they so gloried leaves 
unexplained the terrible questions to 
which Christianity has given answer in 
a style so elevated, and so in accordance 
with the voice of conscience. Skepticism 
soon undermines these fragile columns of 
the temple, which in the fervor of their 



From Christianity. 19 

idolatry they have erected to the pride of 
reason. But with most of them this re- 
action comes too late. They have long 
given up God, and when they would re- 
turn to Him, the hindrance of habit and 
weight of sin arrest them, for religious 
faith is not a thing that can be aban- 
doned and regained at pleasure. "A 
day will come," says Jesus Christ, "when 
ye shall seek Me and shall not find Me." 
Ah! this false science, this superficial 
reason, this is the rock against which I 
would have young people fortified. For 
the most part, young people would blush 
should they frankly avow the motives of 
their unbelief. Nothing is less philo- 
sophical than their reasons. This does 
not prevent them from formulating them 



20 Estrangement of Young People 

into sententious phrases, which to them 
have the force of axioms. A laugh, a 
shrug of the shoulders, this is all their 
answer to the most solemn questions. 

I have neither time nor leisure nor the 
necessary ability to refute the countless 
objections which the youth of the period 
urge against Christianity. All I can now 
do is to recall certain principles, certain 
truths, which should dominate the discus- 
sion of all religious subjects. In the first 
place, I would remind you that logic or 
reason is only an instrument; admirable, 
doubtless — and I would not underrate its 
value — but producing results according to 
the premises assumed. Hence the issue 
of your religious discussions will depend 
upon the principles, the primordial facts, 



From Christianity. 21 

which you have laid down. If all should 
admit the same moral facts, logic applied 
to these facts would give, as a result, the 
same religion ; and skepticism would be 
as impossible in religion as it is in mathe- 
matics. But this is what complicates the 
question. In mathematics and in the 
positive sciences, men have no interest in 
denying first principles, the ideas of 
time and space for example, upon which 
the whole superstructure must rest. All 
who admit the same axioms arrive at 
the same result. In moral science, on 
the contrary, man is no more disinter- 
ested. Every man inclines to the side of 
his good or evil disposition; the same 
facts are not equally evident to all, and 
this is the origin of the most opposite 



22 Estrangement of Young People 

systems. If all would admit the great 
moral facts, which are the axioms of con- 
science — for example, the need of holi- 
ness, of truth, of infinite love, the truths 
of the apostasy, and of guilt — all would 
recognize the fact that the Gospel solu- 
tion is the only reasonable one. So in 
the last analysis, the origin of unbelief is 
less in the reason than in the will. Will 
you, yes or no, recognize the laws of 
your moral conscience ? This is the first 
question to be settled when you ap- 
proach the problem of religion. 

In the second place, if it is not your 
intelligence but your will which is mis- 
led by pride or appetite, it follows that 
the Christianity which would repair the 
evil must act especially upon the will ; in 



From Christianity. 23 

other words, that it must be, above all 
things, moral. Remember this when 
you study the Bible, and especially the 
Old Testament, and do not there search 
for such a God as you wish to put there ; 
beyond the inspired history there, recog- 
nize the relations between God and fallen 
man, and many of the objections you 
urge will fall to the ground of them- 
selves. It is needful to bear in mind 
that the difficulties which a man finds in 
Christianity are in all systems, and are 
inherent in our finite state, with this dif- 
ference, however, that Christianity gives 
us the most practical solution of them, 
and the one most comfortable to our con- 
science. Remember, too, that many of 
the difficulties which exist in theory are 



24 Estrangement of Young People 

solved only in practical life, and that it is > 
with that as with a huge machine, whose 
mechanism we do not understand, but 
whose movement we clearly see. Re- 
member if you deny the physical mira- 
cles of the Gospel, you must deny the 
moral miracles connected with them, 
such as the life and teachings of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, which are equally inexplica- 
ble. We must keep ourselves from hold- 
ing the gospels responsible for the in- 
consistencies which we observe in the 
lives of Christians, and the errors con- 
tained in human dogmas. And, finally, 
when we would discover religious truth, 
we must bear in mind that it is not our 
reason alone that can compass it, but 
that the heart and will must be combined 



From Christianity. 25 

with the reason, without which we shall 
be compelled to acknowledge that which 
we search for is not seriously undertaken. 
"If any one will do the will of my 
Father, he shall know of the doctrine, 
whether it be of God," said the Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

These are a few scattered and broken 
rays, but they will serve to throw some 
light on the frequently controverted sub- 
ject of the harmony of reason and faith. 
You see, the discussion would carry me 
too far. All that I wish to accomplish 
now is to prevent your ever treating any 
religious subject too flippantly. It is 
with respect that you should treat a faith 
which has been adopted by a Newton, a 
Leibnitz, a Bacon, a Kepler, a Euler, and 



26 Estrangement of Young People 

a Pascal. Yes, let it be in the spirit of 
these men that you approach the study of 
Christianity. Examine with care the 
life, the teachings, and the death of 
Christ, the records of the Gospel; read 
and investigate without troubling your- 
selves about the opinions of men, whether 
all this is true, whether these histories 
were a pure invention, whether these 
miracles do not bear the seal of simplicity 
and severe grandeur which wholly sepa- 
rate them from all the marvelous recitals 
which human genius has ever invented. 
Ask yourselves if Jesus Christ has spoken 
the truth, if such a life as His can have 
originated in false enthusiasm, or from 
calculating ambition, and see what your 
conscience will answer. Examine, then, 



From Christianity. 27 

Christian morality. Tell me if men 
ought not so to live, on the supposition 
that there is a true and holy God. Tell 
me if the rational end of our existence 
can be other than the glory of God, if the 
law of the moral world can be other than 
love; tell me if the Christianity which 
proclaims these two laws, unknown to 
the pagan world, can be other than the 
supreme, the absolute truth. Finally, 
interrogate the voice of your conscience. 
Analyze the reason of those regrets, that 
profound ennui, which has poisoned all 
your life; of that need of dissipation 
which makes you hate inward reflection ; 
tell me if the Gospel is wrong in an- 
nouncing your fall and promising you 
restoration. Here is what I call a seri- 



28 Estrangement of Young People 

ous study. It is very easy, doubtless, 
and accessible to all. Admit that it is 
necessary, at least, before you reject the 
Gospel. 

Moreover, I do not hesitate to say that 
it is a very small number of those who 
turn away from Christianity who do it 
from serious reflection and because they 
have yielded to cruel doubts. Most of 
them readily give up its ground, borne 
away by their pleasures. Therefore 
never be astonished that their reasons 
are so frivolous and little satisfactory. 
They are ashamed to admit to themselves 
that they have yielded only to their pas- 
sions and the love of the flesh. Certain 
specious arguments for palliating their 
conduct — these are what they desire, this 



From Christianity. 29 

is the brilliant coin they pay, to quiet 
their conscience. 

But it is not reason alone which is de- 
veloped in young people and which 
menaces their religious convictions. All 
their faculties are awakened by youth's 
morning; and the imagination and the 
sentiments which then take wing, if mis- 
directed, sweep many a noble soul away 
from the Gospel. Doubtless, imagina- 
tion exists in the child; but at sixteen, 
it throws upon life an especial fascina- 
tion. It is then that sentiment opens to 
the soul mysteries of which it had been 
thus far ignorant ; that the heart compre- 
hends what it is to love, and that a new 
world unknown opens in bloom before 
the eye. The entire being is stirred 



30 Estrangement of Young People 

from beneath as a fountain ; all the facul- 
ties of the soul seem to be transformed ; 
an ardor takes possession of the soul ; am- 
bition kindles into flame, and poetry- 
strews our path with the most brilliant 
flowers. 

You recall the day when for the first 
time you understood the great poets, 
when upon your vision a work of art first 
fascinated you with its charms. A veil 
fell from before your eyes. You knew, 
then, that you had forever bidden adieu 
to childhood and its simple enjoyments. 
Perhaps ambition was awakened within 
you. Who is there of you who has not 
dreamed of glory ; who has not thought 
of himself as a great poet, an illustrious 
savant, orator, or general ? 



From Christianity. j\ 

And must we absolutely condemn this 
ardor, this enthusiasm, those brilliant 
hopes? No. On the contrary, wretched 
is he who has never had enthusiasm, who 
has carried in his young bosom a heart 
prematurely old. Christianity does not 
fear enthusiasm : it purifies and elevates 
it. What do I say? It alone conserves 
it, preserves it untouched, protects it 
from the soil of the world ; this fruitful 
source of generous obligations which is 
in the deepest depths of the human soul. 
But we must recognize, also, this truth, 
that if this new flame exhausts itself en- 
tirely upon the things of the world, if self- 
ishness and vanity and personal ambition 
or impure passions are aliment upon its 
altar, it will not burn unpunished. You 



32 Estrangement of Young People 

shall see as its flame brightens that of 
religion grows pale, and in the conflagra- 
tion of an ambition or dissipated youth 
your eyes will be blinded to discern that 
which is alone truly grand and beautiful. 
Daily self-denial, purity of life, which 
ought to nourish your soul, will seem in- 
sipid to your corrupt taste. 

Ah! my friends, I do not fear to say 
this : If a man shall place himself on the 
very heights of poetry and arts, Chris- 
tianity will shine there with an incom- 
parable brightness. The greatest poets, 
the greatest artists, have recognized this ; 
and whatever sublime creations their 
genius may have invented, the divine 
figure "Christ" will always dominate 
them, for He is perfection absolute; 



From Christianity. 33 

and everything grand, beautiful, pure, 
comes from being in harmony with Him. 
But rarely do men seek this elevation, 
and consequently the majority remain be- 
low in the midst of a tumult of passions. 
The fire which kindles their soul is too 
often that of an ambition wholly carnal, 
or that of covetousness and disorder. 
This is so true to-day that, when one 
would imagine himself a great artist, he 
must think of a disordered life, and that 
the inspiration of the poet springs from 
light that leads astray. Why is it neces- 
sary that, profaning their powers, so 
many noble minds should plead this ex- 
cuse for their conduct? Why is it neces- 
sary that even to-day works of genius 
should be associated with disordered 



34 Estrangement of Young People 

lives? What! Do you say that inspira- 
tion is more likely to visit you in the 
midst of the orgies of such disorder? 
What kind of inspiration ? Ah ! we know 
well. But it is not that of Virgil, whose 
muse might be called a young girl, so 
pure are her manners. It is not that of 
Dante, who lived a life of ideal love. It 
is not that of Milton, dictating to his 
daughters by his side that immortal 
poem, and singing the innocence of 
Eden beneath a crown of white hair, 
which disorder had not soiled. It is not 
that of Corneille, writing " Polyeacte and 
Cinna" beside the cradle of his sleeping 
babes; nor that of Racine, composing 
" Athalie" under the shades of Port Royal. 
I might mention more. Why should I 



From Christianity. 35 

do so? Notwithstanding the deplorable 
excesses of the bright minds of our pe- 
riod, I do not conclude that it is only evil 
which can inspire great poets and great 
artists. Christianity has a source more 
profound. 

But I must not forget that if Chris- 
tianity has often appeared cold and exact, 
too little poetic for young minds and ar- 
dent imaginations, the fault is with 
Christians. We have inherited from our 
fathers something of the scholastic, the 
wrangler, the bigot. Look at our litera- 
ture of the Renaissance: how it has 
sighed a little, as though everything 
were bombastic. With what a mortal 
weariness its books inspire us ! I see in 
it no young soul, no strong life; every- 



36 Estrangement of Young People 

thing is cast in the same mold. The 
characters all shuffle in the same scanty 
uniform. We who are Scripture readers 
have often remarked the profound differ- 
ence between St. Paul, St. James, and St. 
John. From the very first each is rec- 
ognized in his own character. What 
harmony and what magnificent move- 
ment! Well, it is because each has had 
a taste of the same faith, each character 
has spoken his own proper language. 
There is nothing severely methodical in 
them, but a mighty life freely taking its 
own flight and creating its own true ex- 
pression. Let them be an example to us. 
Let there be among us nothing timid, 
pedantic, narrow. Let us banish those 
unfortunate influences which have done 



From Christianity. 37 

injury to our Protestantism. Let there 
be nothing in it which is not grand and 
beautiful. Let our Christian life be no 
pale imitation, but a free reproduction of 
life apostolic. Let us each have his own 
character, his own individuality, his own 
life; be strong, in a word, be young. 
Oh, youth! what a grand thing it is to 
preach in this day to all these young 
people ! 

I would now fortify you against a false 
enthusiasm. And where is that enthusi- 
asm in our day which even is false? 
Where are those who are passionate in 
their pursuit of what is vanity ? It seems 
to me that what distinguishes the youth of 
our period is premature old age. Young 
people do not find time to admire ; they 



38 Estrangement of Young People 

do not forget themselves in their enthu- 
siasm. Their first aim is to get on. I 
notice among young people, even the 
very young, the love of money, the 
stock-jobbing instinct; among students, 
the desire to get into the most advanta- 
geous places, and to make the most 
money. The evil is universal, and 
everybody knows it. For this tendency 
there is a cause, which partly explains it : 
the industrial spirit, which invades every- 
thing. Everywhere people have learned 
the marvelous power of money as 
never before. Do not think that I would 
here, as misanthropic and old people do, 
pretend that former times have been bet- 
ter than ours and heap upon the head of 
this generation as upon a scapegoat all 



From Christianity. 39 

reproaches and all vices. Far from it. 
I believe that in many respects our age is 
perhaps better than any which have pre- 
ceded it. But this does not prevent my 
seeing that the capital vice, the original 
sin, of our time is the love of money, and 
from proclaiming that to youth nothing 
can be more deadly. In the previous age 
people were intoxicated with the human 
reason, and firmly believed in its moral 
goodness. Deplorable error, without 
doubt to lead youth astray, but which 
could not dry it up in its flower. We 
have recovered from those illusions. 
We believe that man is first of all a be- 
ing actuated by self-interest, and that 
money is the grand motive which affects 
that. This idea we find everywhere. It 



40 Estrangement of Young People 

strikes us especially in literature, which 
it would appear should from its very na- 
ture be free from it. Do we see in past 
ages that money has played any great 
role in works of art? Largely, now, 
tragedies, dramas, and literary produc- 
tions turn upon the question of the acqui- 
sition of great sums of money, of an es- 
tate to be acquired. It is at the bottom 
of the intrigue of many a fashionable 
romance. Protests are made, it is true, 
against putting honor beneath wealth. 
Many literary writers are inspired by this 
thought. But as these protestations are 
made in the interest of their authors, 
the public sees only another more inge- 
nious method of worshiping the Mam- 
mon of the age. 



From Christianity. 41 

This passion penetrates even the 
Church. It goes without saying that I 
do not speak here of the Roman Church, 
which during the days of Louis X. so 
extended its great undertakings piously 
commercial, and was sagacious enough to 
discover an inexhaustible mine in the 
sale of indulgences. But in the evan- 
gelical Churches, otherwise alive, it is the 
plague of this our age, which proudly dis- 
plays itself. And no one who sees us 
would be able to believe that we be- 
longed by profession to those who were 
pilgrims and strangers on earth. If an 
apostolic father should address us a let- 
ter of exhortation as in the early period of 
the Church, do you think he could begin 
with that simple and sublime exhortation 



42 Estrangement of Young People 

of the letter of Clement from Rome: 
" The Church of Rome to the Church of 
God sojourning in Corinth ?" Could he 
say thus to the Church of God, dwelling 
as strangers in France, ready to set out 
for Canaan? Alas, my friends, I leave 
with you the answer. But if any Chris- 
tians are called upon to break these heavy 
chains which attach them to the world, 
where shall we find them so much as 
among the young? Oh, I conjure you 
not to be hurried away upon this corrupt 
current. We see how you abandon the 
professions once called liberal, and every- 
where turn to those employments where 
money can be made. The dearth of 
young pastors is extreme. Young men 
wish to be rich, to get on. In the sci- 



From Christianity. 43 

ences, for example, you may see how 
young people ask first for their practical 
and lucrative applications, and do not 
look upon the more general and noble 
aspects of any subject. They wish to 
see what will be popular, useful, well re- 
ceived, and they care little about general 
principles. It is difficult to pursue care- 
lessly a serious work, and one in which a 
man should invest his conscience, when 
one sees around him so many young 
men who advance very rapidly because 
of fortunate speculations, so many for- 
tunes made by a stroke of the wand; 
when he sees conscience trodden under 
foot and success finally justifying every- 
thing. 

Go forth this evening and see every- 



44 Estrangement of Young People 

where around you in Paris, this great 
capital, luxury parading herself with mag- 
nificence, the favored ones of the world, 
whom eyes follow afar; then enter the 
poor chamber of the student or the 
clerk. The contrast will be painful: the 
world will breathe around you its heated 
breath, by which for the time you have 
been intoxicated. Its life obscures the 
Christian life, your voluntary renuncia- 
tions, the Cross of your Savior; all this 
will, perhaps, be your experience. Who 
of us has not at some time found it so? 
But mark this, you will maintain in your 
stricter life two things which those who 
are happy in the world have long lost, 
and which are still the only source of 
happiness : purity of soul and the fire of 



From Christianity. 45 

youth — these two things which Chris- 
tianity keeps and which the world envies, 
and which, when once lost, never can be 
restored. 

I have mentioned a few of the many 
difficulties which estrange youth from 
Christianity, and especially the youth of 
the present day. It remains to me now 
to indicate the greatest, the most terri- 
ble, the most comprehensive: namely, 
the intoxication of the passions of those 
who are impure. 

It is in the morning of youth that pas- 
sion awakes — precisely the period when 
one must decide whether he will keep or 
abandon his faith in Christianity. Ah, 
my friends, for the most part this is the 
true and great motive for unbelief. You 



46 Estrangement of Young People 

■* — 

have shared astonishment with me at 
what the young undertake to justify, 
and the feebleness of the argument. It 
is because these reasons, these arguments 
are only palliations of what they seek to 
maintain in their own eyes and in the 
eyes of others. The true motive is that 
while the Christian must be pure, he 
does not wish for purity. Yes, the Chris- 
tian must be pure. He cannot with eyes 
blinded by the thick veil of the flesh see 
the brightness which the Gospel every- 
where sheds abroad. In order to see in 
its light, he must escape from this 
atmosphere of impurity in which the 
youth of the period strikes root around 
it. 

In traveling in Switzerland, have you 



From Christianity. 47 

ever remarked this simple and yet stri- 
king fact ? While you are in the valleys, 
you can scarcely see the summit of Mount 
Blanc, hidden as it is behind the moun- 
tains which are nearer. Nothing reveals 
to you its grandeur. You rank it among 
ordinary mountains. But leave the plain, 
climb higher. Mount Blanc ascends with 
you; inferior peaks, which seemed to 
outtop it, sink down before your aston- 
ished eye. Mount upward still higher, 
higher, until you are far above all the 
noise of the plain, and this king of moun- 
tains, only great amid its snowclad com- 
panions, appears to you in its incompar- 
able majesty. 

It is thus with Jesus Christ. So long 
as you remain in the plain that is sur- 



48 Estrangement of Young People 

rounded by the impure air, which the 
youth of the period breathe with full 
lungs, Gocl and the Gospel have for you 
no attraction, no glory; you scarcely 
turn your attention to them at all. But 
leave the plain, ascend above these 
miasms, seek an atmosphere purer, more 
life-giving, and you will see upon your 
horizon that Jesus Christ lifts himself 
up, as your life is lifted up, and when all 
bruised, all exhausted by your long climb 
you reach the heights for which you 
aspired, the Gospel will fill your soul 
with its superhuman beauty, its divine 
grandeur. 

Impurity, this vast abyss in which the 
crowd is lost, is so much the more 
formidable in France, because nobody 



From Christianity. 49 

thinks it to be dangerous. There is 
nothing more attractive, nothing more 
seductive, than the path to it. It would 
seem that everything that is young must 
go that way. What is there to fear? A 
few transient wanderings, an ephemeral 
intoxication? But is this so great an 
evil? And must not the fire of youth 
have some expression — its ardor be re- 
tained? A pure young man is a phe- 
nomenon. We refuse to believe in him. 
It is as though the young man now de- 
nies himself nothing. Life — life so full 
of currents, life with all its joys — makes 
demands upon our passionate natures, and 
we often are carried away less by our 
warmth than by our curiosity, which 
leads us to think that in order to be a 



50 Estrangement of Young People 

judge of anything we must see it and ex- 
perience it. 

The evil does not seem to be very 
great. It is something so slight and so 
unimportant that people do not wish to 
be severe about a few errors in this direc- 
tion. The evil does not seem so great! 
And, think you, that one loses nothing 
by going in the paths of impurity, while 
he yet escapes the abyss in which so 
many young men are lost? Think you 
that the recollection of those evil hours 
will not return to assail you later, as the 
nauseous savor of undigested viands? It 
seems a little levity of life does no harm. 
A poet of our period— who doubtless fell 
very low, but who on this account is the 
grander and the more to be respected, 



From Christianity. 51 

because from the midst of his wanderings 
he has addressed the most sublime long- 
ings for his lost purity, for the ideal which 
he would recover and which he seeks for 
in vain — has written these lines, which I 
wish might be graven upon your souls : 

" Oh, wretched he, disturbed of peace and rest, 
If once debauch shall stain his youthful breast. 

The heart of man is like a vase profound : 
If impure water should be poured within, 
The sea itself cannot efface the sin ; 

The task is infinite without a bound." 

Ah! yes, my friends, preserve — pre- 
serve from being soiled that vase pro- 
found which God has confided to our keep- 
ing. It is there that are elaborated great 
thoughts and great deeds; it is there that 
are gathered the great forces of life, 



52 Estrangement of Young People 

Yes, the memory of temptations con- 
quered gives strength to conquer new 
ones; it is a perfume which embalms 
life and preserves it. And when God 
shall grant you the life of the family, it 
will be the crown of your mutual affec- 
tion, it will be the most precious treasure 
you can bring to the companion which 
God has chosen for you. It will be the 
wreath radiant with divine benediction 
upon the innocent heads of your chil- 
dren. I must further remind you that 
what hurts this noble cause is the fact 
that chastity often has for its advocates 
and defenders persons of a cold tempera- 
ment, young people without youth and 
without passion, the premature old man 
of whom I have just spoken to you. 



From Christianity. 53 

People conclude from this that it is very 
easy to preach to others what has cost 
them almost nothing. Another circum- 
stance which equally hurts this noble 
cause is that young Christians, in order 
to carry on this terrible struggle, fall into 
excess of becoming, not too pure, for 
that cannot be done, but of becoming 
prudish, severe, gloomy, puritanic. This 
excess of prudence makes them bad com- 
pany, takes away all spirit and anima- 
tion, prevents them from being obliging 
and gay when they should be. 

In this respect, then, let us have noth- 
ing with which to reproach ourselves, 
and let us not recall with confusion that 
admirable saying of the Savior which 
I may thus adapt: "When thou art 



54 Estrangement of Young People 

young, wash thy face, perfume thy hair, 
and do not draw down thy features to 
make thyself seem sad." Yes, under 
this head, as under the others I would 
give you this counsel : Be young ! It is 
said that seeking impure pleasure be- 
longs to youth. You know, on the other 
hand, that nothing more quickly destroys 
it: that nothing more quickly fades its 
crown. But it belongs to you to prove 
to the world that purity alone can pre- 
serve the youth of the soul, freshness of 
feeling, force of life, enthusiasm and 
love for everything that is great. These 
struggles, this inward warfare, far from 
enfeebling you, will recruit your charac- 
ter and prepare you for the great battle 
of life. Go on: your efforts are not lost. 



From Christianity. 55 

The storm will not overthrow you, but 
will make you penetrate still farther into 
the domain of Christianity. Your con- 
victions will take root. The fire of pas- 
sion will be to you the fire that tempers 
the steel. The struggle, God blessing it, 
will have a happy issue, and you will 
come forth from it regenerated and 
stronger. 

I have attempted to mention some of 
the things which alienate young people 
from Christianity, to show you how you 
will be able to combat them, and how 
also we can make easier the path of those 
who come after us. God calls each of us 
to a holy ministry among our young 
friends. We can exert a mighty influ- 
ence, a blessed influence, upon those 



56 Estrangement of Young People 

whom we a little precede in life. The 
Christianity preached to youth may be 
made more attractive to them. Let us 
not be unfaithful to our duty, and may 
God give us the grace to accomplish it. 

The times are trying ones. Religious 
ideas are blotted out; self-interest, lux- 
ury have invaded society, and perverted 
moral ideas. The world proclaims itself. 
Never has there been such a variety of 
talent, never so few great characters. 
But it is great characters, resolute spirits, 
which save the world and regenerate so- 
ciety. It was not the talent of St. Paul 
which founded the Church of the gen- 
tiles; it was his soul, inspired by the 
Spirit of God. And in the sixteenth cen- 
tury it was not the talent of Luther 



From Christianity. 57 

which regenerated Germany; it was his 
unquenchable faith. Genius and talent 
can only dazzle the world: they cannot 
save it. Great characters alone regener- 
ate and reform a nation. 

Then, amid this general intoxication, 
this general well-being, this progressive 
civilization of these joys ever more at- 
tractive, in the midst of this enervation, 
let us keep a strong will, a firm heart, 
unquenchable faith, for we need them 
if we would not perish. However hum- 
ble may be our position and limited our 
resources, be it ours to be true to this 
purpose ; to show to contemporaneous so- 
ciety that, in the midst of the unchain- 
ing of bad passions which swells in upon 
our country from every side, there re- 



58 Estrangement of Young People. 

mains to this new generation energetic 
convictions, firm hope, and a power 
greater than that of evil, and that this 
faith, these convictions, this force, God 
has put into the hearts of young Chris- 
tians. 



THE END. 



J^CXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXXIXXXIX^ 



Christianity 



T riumphant. 



Its Defensive and Aggressive 
Victories, 

By J, P. NEWMAN, D.D. 



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A Book for Girls. 



HOW TO WIN. 

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